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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Exhaust sounds

Am I right in assuming that if I fit a Rover V8 but duplicate the factory single pipe exhaust system then I won't get that wonderful V8 sound.
I appreciate that the fuel tank get in the way of a dual system but I intend fitting a "donut" LPG tank in that space anyway and a smaller (say 2 - 3 gallon custom made tank under the rear seat where the second battery would go on a dual set up. My car is a rubber bumper so it only has one battery. I knowe the filler pipe route would be a problem but I'm only at the dreaming stage of a transplant to V8 power.

Paul Humphries.
Paul Humphries

If you want the v-8 sound with little space for mufflers you might want to try the pipe inserts by car chemistry inc. WWW.carchemistry.com I plan to try them on my next conversion. I think you could run duels and not have to move your tank.
Garret
garret

Drop in a single flow master exhaust. You'll DEFINITELY get that dual exhaust sound. Whenever I rev my engine, people come flocking to see what's there. It's about as effective at gaining attention as a puppy is for a single guy in need of a wife.

Looking to buy a dog, ;)
Justin
Justin

Clive Wheatley 01902 330489
Roger

Like Roger says Clive is your man. I've had his Janspeed single pipe system for 10 years, fantastic and loud noise :-)
KD Rowson

Paul,

I know someone who occasionally posts here but has a dual system and twin exhausts, sounds like Concord.

Let me know and I will ask him to contact you.

Paul
Paul

paul, i took my gt to a custom muffler shop, they ran twin 1.5" pipes side by side, up and over the rear axle and fitted twin small glass packs at the rear, all in the stock exhaust location, i also installed a balance pipe up towards the front, twin chrome tips at the rear, it sounded great, very nice rumble, jim
jim m

Not to start a flame war, but I'm not sure that the Brits really know what a V8 is supposed to sound like. On my last visit to London all the car exhuasts sounded like someone passing gas over a pop bottle. My idea of the perfect V8 exhaust sound was the noise made by a factory fresh '65 Mustang 289CI High Performance. If any of you yanks can recall! ;)
Chris Jones

Yeah, sure Chris.... Those Mustangs sure did handle well (not).
You obviously haven't seen many cars owned by Brits on this forum.
KD Rowson

My preference in exhaust sounds would be the sound in the latest mustang chase movie. Gone in 60 seconds. Give that a listen, pure music. ahhhhhh
Larry Embrey

Just for your edification, Keith, the Mustang GT350 beat the pants off most comers in SCCA B Production all through the 70's albeit these versions had a VERY LOUD exhaust note. cheers, cj
Chris Jones

I'm with you on that one larry!

Elanor, the supposed GT500 in that movie (the Nicolas Cage one that is), was actually a GT350 though.

just a little bit of trivia there ;)

Anthony
Anthony Morgan

Yes, but they were race cars, not your average yank car that is only good for going in straight lines. And that is fact and not fiction :-))
KD Rowson

Paul,

You'll get a nice V8 sound, but only if you have a one muffler system. Two really destroy the engine note. Leave the back one in place, cut the centre box off.

Duals of course give you more of an American V8 sound. Personally I prefer the sound of a single through the rev range, but a dual at idle. Weird eh. The best sounding British V8 I've heard is a +8 Morgan with Duals.

N
Neil Cotty

Anthony,
Yeah I know they were "only" GT350's heh they had 11made up for the movie shoot and stunt sequences. I lost track of how many cars actually made it out of movie production in running form, but I know a couple got totaled pretty badly.. The jump sequence alone probably ate 2.

Larry Embrey

Best exhaust note I recall hearing in any car -- an I love the sound of an American V8 -- was a TVR Griffith 500 which I got to see once when I was across the pond. I forget ... is that just a Rover 5-liter motor?
David

David,

Yes it's "just" a little ole Rover. :) With monstrous headers etc. A friend has a Chimera (sp?) which I've had the pleasure of quite a few rides in. They are viciously quick, the Griffith 500 even quicker, and their exhaust note is fabulous so long as you're not riding in it for longer than 20 minutes (IMO). From the sidewalk they truely sound awesome, but again, IMO, they have some sort of mettalic thrum that causes serious earache after a short while. LOL - I think I'm just jealous. ;) I'd love a Griffith but I wouldn't want to drive it super long distances without motorcycle type ear plugs. <G> You can buy a 2nd hand Griffith 4.3 these days for a mere 11,000 UKP or so, I've seen 500's as low as £14K. Very tempting! Personally I'd prefer a breathed on Morgan +8.. All Class AND power! :)

N
Neil Cotty

I live just around the corner from the TVR factory, all the cars are road-tested before delivery, so I get to hear a lot of them.

Neil is right, the Griffith probably has the best note, but the Chimera is probably better to live with.

One of my friends has swapped his Chimera for a Noble
(Traitor) that's got a twin turbo V6 just behind your head, the racket it makes when the dump valves open as you change gear has to be heard to be believed, but I couldn't live with it on a long trip.

My V8 originally had a Clive Wheatley big bore system,which I found too noisy when cruising until I fitted a Cherry Bomb centre silencer, but now has a BeeHive stainless RV8 system (Single rear silencer).

This sounds good on acceleration, but not too noisy when cruising the motorway.

Mike


Michael barnfather

I doubt you’ll be disappointed with the sound even with a single system. Mine has the block hugger headers joining to one pipe and a muffler from an auto parts store and every comment made about the sound has been positive, well, not counting what my wife says. One person even told me that he was talking about my car at work and another person asked, “Are you talking about that car that sounds so good?” I don’t remember the exact quote, but it was something that indicated it was the car’s sound that impressed him most.
George Champion

George, Do you recall the type of muffler installed on your car? I'm finishing up a V6 conversion and am planing on having the exhaust made up next week. I'm also planing on a Y pipe and single muffler, although I'm not sure how a V6 will sound. I had a B before that would drive you nuts. It would resonate right at highway speeds. I'm looking to find something with a nice sound, but not be annoying on the highway.
John Davis

John,

No, I don’t remember what brand the muffler is. The box is long gone, but I’ll crawl under there and see if the name is stamped on it and let you know. I bought it at Pep Boys because it had the required 2 ¼ inch inlet and outlet as well as the other dimensions. The sound was just a bonus.
George Champion

If you are still at the dreaming stage why are you asking about exhaust systems.
you are years away from worrying about that.
Les Cole

Les,
My car is finished with the exception of the exhaust. I'm hoping to get it to the muffler shop next week.
John Davis

Paul Humphries,

You should investigate the MGOC twin pipe system that they fitted to their Supersports project. The main silencers were in front of the rear axle, so the pipes beside the tank were really slim. I don't know if the tank was a standard one centralised or whether it was a custom build. There was no linking pipe between the two sides. The independent road test article I have says that the car sounded terrific while not being obtrusively loud (like some TVR's).

Mike
Mike Howlett

Hi Mike,
I couldn't find anything about the MGOC twin exhaust on their web site, do you have any more info?
Regards
Tony Bates
Tony Bates

<< I know someone who occasionally posts here but has a dual system and twin exhausts, sounds like Concord.>>
Grin grin, I guess that is me. I have a twin system, the fuel tank is custom made and fits between the exhausts. You have to use a system with these "bomb boxes", so you can keep your tank as wide as possible. You will have the fuel filler pipe a little bit to the left. Try to keep this movement to a minimum.
Reason for this comment is that it is best to fit your LPG tank under the wooden board in the back. You can then use a flat donut tank of about 50 liters and the board still fits over it. So you won't notice a thing.
Securing the tank to legal standards can be done without making holes in the body of the car.
Filling the LPG tank goes by taking out a bulb of the reverse lights and removing the innards. The LPG filler piece will fit in there. Use a bit of foam around the white bit of the light and it will fit over the filler piece.
Remember that dual fuel is very good, but not in every part of Europe you can buy this stuff. It is extremely cheap in Poland and Holland, but in Spain it cannot be bought. And pumps are spread quite wide apart in England, so occasionally you'll use petrol.

Frank
Frank de Groot

Tony Bates,

Apologies for not responding to your question sooner - I must pay more attention, as my school teachers used to say.

You are right, the MGOC don't show the twin system on their website, but it is in their paper catalogue. The code number is B158 and it consists of the entire system including a pair of RV8 through-the-fender stainless manifolds (headers), and twin stainless systems with no interlinking pipework. The main silencers (mufflers) are in front of the rear axle, and there are what I believe are called Jet Tubes running up the sides of the fuel tank.

The whole lot costs a whacking 798 GB pounds, but that includes our tax at 17.5%. Take off the tax (VAT) and it comes to £679, which is still a lot but it does include the headers. I don't know what shipping would cost.

Mike
Mike Howlett

This thread was discussed between 21/11/2002 and 05/12/2002

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